


I've got you

by YeetMeet



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Fluff, M/M, but a lot of angst too, so much fluff to come, they're all like 12
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-03-01 02:22:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18791065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YeetMeet/pseuds/YeetMeet
Summary: Eren had never been good at making friends and was known as a trouble maker, quick to anger and willing to fight. After the death of his mother, Erens father decides its time for a fresh start and the pair move to the small coastal town of Shinganshia.Armin was an outcast, bullied for being strange and the fact that his parents had abandoned him. He lives with his grandfather just in a small beach house just out of town. Grandpa Arlert just wants his grandson to be happy but worries about his eccentric behavior sometimes.The pair meet and form a strange but strong bond





	1. One

Eren sat on his bed, glaring at his backpack. He hadn't wanted to move here. This town was a small town like any other, small and boring.  It wasn't the fact he had lived in his old town his entire life, it was gray and boring there too, but leaving meant leaving all he had left of his mother. 

His father had tried to convince him it would be a fresh start, in a place where he might actually be able to make friends and have a clean record. But Eren didn't care about his record and other kids never seemed to like him. He didn't want a fresh start, he wanted his mother back.

It didn't seem to matter however because two weeks after, his father had told him they were moving. Next thing he knew he was sitting in the passenger seat of his father's car with all his worldly possessions in a trailer attached to the back, driving away from his home.  

Eren hadn't left the house since they arrived three days earlier. His father tried to get him out so he could get to know the place a little but Eren flat refused. He refused to do anything his father asked him to, too angry at him for forcing him to move like this. 

"Eren!" He heard him call from downstairs. "Are you ready to go?" Eren ignored him and continued to glare at his backpack. A few minutes passed before he heard a knock at his door, "Eren, come on. You're going to miss the bus, which will mean I'll have to drop you which will make me late." Grisha said opening the door and crossing his arms. Eren shifted his glare from his backpack to his father and said nothing. Grisha glared back, neither of them willing to back down. After a few moments, Grisha pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Look, I know you're not happy to be here but could you just do this for me? She'd want you to make an effort with school." Eren's shoulders relaxed a little. He stood up and grabbed his backpack before wordlessly pushing past Grisha.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Armin sat on faded white and blue porch steps, blanket wrapped around his shoulders, arranging the seashells he'd found the day before. He placed them in small patterns across the step beside him as he waited for the bus to arrive. 

"You're taking the blanket with you again?" came his grandfather's voice from behind him. He turned to look up at him before averting his eyes again and shrugging. He went back to arranging the shells, hoping his grandfather wouldn't say anything more on the subject. He really didn't want to hear it all again. Luckily, Grandpa Arlert just sighed and took a seat on the step above him and looked at the patterns with a  tired smile. "Looks nice," he said ruffling his grandson's hair. Armin smiled up at him and nodded.

The bus honked from up at the road. Armin jumped up, scooping the shells into his backpack and running off toward it, stopping briefly as he got on to give his grandfather a wave before going to take his seat. The bus wasn't very full but Armin knew better than to sit with any of the kids on board. He took a seat near the front, the only person close by was a boy he didn't recognize. He figured he was new and probably wouldn't give him any trouble just yet. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Eren stared at the kid who had just gotten on, he thought it looked like a boy but wasn't sure. He looked kind of odd, he was thin, with nearly shoulder-length blonde hair and was wearing a blanket around his shoulders. 

They made a few more stops along the way. Eren didn't miss the way the boy would tense when certain kids climbed on board or the looks they'd give him as they passed. He didn't quite know what was going on but it didn't sit well with him.

When they arrived, the boy got off the bus first and walked straight inside while everyone else took their time grabbing their bags and chatting. Eren was intrigued by the kid, he seemed really strange. He wanted to know why he was wearing that blanket and why the other kids acted like that towards him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Armin watched as the teacher called the boy from the bus up to the front and introduced him as Eren. Armin didn't think much of it, he was just another kid who would either end up avoiding him or beating him up. He doodled along the side of his notebook and listened as the teacher began to talk about the book they were all supposed to be reading this week.

After class Armin made his way towards his locker, keeping his eyes down and trying to move fast. Unforchunantly, when he reached his locker he found a familiar trio of boys waiting for him. "Hey Armin," one said as if he was greeting a friend as he slandered over and stood looking down at him. Armin kept his eyes trained on the ground, "See ya wearn' that ratty old blanket again." he said "You really haven't got the message have ya?" he said suddenly shoving Armin back against the wall, he hit the wall and fell to the ground with a loud "Oof" The boy stood over him "We don't like weirdos in our school." the two other boys moved to stand either side of him "But you keep wearing that and doing weird shit." 

Armin sat silently glaring up at them, clutching his bag to his chest and holding his blanket tight around himself. "Wonder what kinda weird shit you got in here," one of the boys said snatching his bag from him. Armin jumped up and tried to grab it back, but one of the other boys shoved him against the lockers again. The first boy emptied the contents onto the floor and laughed, " Look at this shit."  he said picking up one of the shells from that morning. Armin tried to grab it from him but ended up being shoved down again, this time getting a rough kick to the guts as well. The boy dropped it on the ground and stomped it as the other two laughed before doing the same to the rest. Tears welled up in Armin's eyes as he watched them destroy the shells but he forced them away, he wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" The boys stopped and Armin looked up to see what was going on. It was the new kid, Armin took a second to remember his name. "None of your business." One of the boys sneered at him. Eren glaring at them, not saying a word. "What, you looking for a fight?" the boy laughed. "The new kid thinks he's tough," he said before taking a step forward and going to shove at Eren. He dodged him easily, making him stumble. He growled and tried to swing at him but Eren was too quick, moving in and landing a hit on the kid stomach, knocking him back. The other two boys looked shocked for a moment before they both ran at Eren. He got a few good hits in but the pair managed to overpower him. The stockier of the two held him while the other two began to punch at his gut.

"Oi Brats!" a voice rang out, Eren was released instantly as the boys scrambled back "What do you think you're doing?" a short man with dark hair and an undercut strode toward them. "Uh we-uh We were, um" one of the boys studdered as they backed away. "Beating up the new kid?" The man finished for him, voice monotone. "You three, get to my office now." All three boys hung their heads and quickly ran off. "You two alright?" He asked looking between Eren and Armin. Eren shrugged as he stood up, holding his stomach. The man wrote a quick note and handed it to Eren. "Go see the nurse, Arlert here knows the way. Have her check you over then head back to class." He said before walking off in the same direction as the boys had gone.

The pair sat side by side waiting outside the nurse's office. "Why'd they do that?" Eren asked, Armin only shrugged. "You didn't put up much of a fight, why didn't you run away or something?" Armin looked over at him "They think I'm weird, that's why they beat me up. When they don't understand something, they attack it. If I ran away it would give them the satisfaction of knowing they scared me. I refuse to give them that kind of power over my life" Eren frowned, this boy was defiantly strange but in an interesting way. He wanted to know more about this boy. "I'm Eren." He said holding out his hand. Armin stared at Eren's hand for a few moments before taking it "My names Armin."


	2. Part 2

After being checked over by the school nurse, the boys walked to their next class together. Armin felt slightly nervous with Eren walking right beside him. Ever since he was young the other kids would pick on him and anyone who tried to show him any kindness or include him got the same treatment so most stayed away from Armin. Eren had saved him from those boys, he was new and couldn't possibly know what the repercussions of his actions would be. Guilt settled in Armin's stomach as thought of the possibilities. Eren may have just condemned himself to a school life of bullying. That or he would wisen up and either join the other boys in pushing him around or avoiding him like the plague. One of the two latter was more likely but he would still be bullied for at least a few weeks.

"You sure you're ok? You look a little pale." Eren said nonchalantly looking over at him. Armin nodded, keeping his eyes downcast as he wondered if next time Eren would be one of the ones shoving him around.

When they entered the classroom, every set of eyes turned toward them. "Hello! You must be Eren!" Came the teachers cheerful greeting as she stood up to introduce herself. Armin took his seat at the back of the class while the teacher shook Eren's hand and told him to pick a seat. To Armin's surprise and dismay, Eren walked right up and took the desk right beside him.

Armin didn't miss the way some of the other kids would send sideways glances toward Eren throughout the lesion before whispering amongst themselves. Eren, however, seemed unaffected. Either that or he didn't notice, Armin thought to himself. 

The class seemed to drone on forever, Armin's anxieties about Eren were making it hard to concentrate. When the bell finally rang for lunch, Armin jumped up and practically ran from the class. He didn't usually run away like this but he didn't want to talk to Eren, just in case it made things worse. 

Eren watched him go with a frown, he had hoped to talk with him again. He packed up his things and wandered off through the halls, deciding to try and find Armin so they could talk. It's not like he had anything better to do. He walked aimlessly for a while, still not knowing his way around. Most of the other kids were outside playing so he found most of the corridors were pretty deserted. Eventually, he found Armin sitting alone in a classroom. 

"Why do you keep running off?" He asked bluntly as he entered the room. Armin jumped a little looking over at him quickly before back at the floor. "Is it because of those guys from earlier?" Eren asked walking over and taking a seat next to him on the floor. "Kind of." Armin said with a shrug, avoiding his eyes "Why did you follow me?" 

Eren shrugged and pulled his lunch from his bag. Armin frowned, "You probably shouldn't hang around me." he said as Eren pulled out a sandwich and began eating, obviously planning on spending lunch with Armin. Eren turned to look at him "Why not?" He asked through a mouthful. "The other kids will pick on you, they always pick on people who are nice to me." Armin said finally looking over at him.

Eren shrugged again "I don't care." he said going back to his sandwich. Armin raised an eyebrow "You won't be able to make any friends, everyone will avoid you." Eren nodded "They usually do." Armin sat back and thought about what Eren had said for a few moments before pulling out his own lunch. What exactly did he mean by that?

The pair ate in silence until eventually, Eren finished and packed his bag back up. Armin thought he might have thought better of what he had said earlier and was leaving. Instead, he shuffled to face Armin. "So what the deal with the blanket?" Armin suddenly felt anxiety grip his stomach, that was the exact question that had started the bullying.

He shrugged and pulled the blanket around himself tighter, eyes shooting back to the floor. Eren saw how uncomfortable the question had made him and quickly tried to backtrack, "You don't have to tell me, there's stuff I don't like talking about either." Armin relaxed a little and nodded "It's not something I like talking about." Eren decided to be careful about what he asked next. He had a lot of thing's he didn't want to be asked about, mainly about his mother, and this boy was obviously similar. 

"Do you like seashells?" Armin raised an eyebrow at him. "When those boys tipped out your bag, there was a bunch on seashells in there," Eren said looking him over for any signs of discomfort. Armin nodded "I do, I collect them." he said with a small smile. "You must go to the beach a lot then?" Armin nodded again, this time with a little more enthusiasm "I love the beach, I go all the time! It's my favorite place to be." Eren was glad something to talk about, even if he didn't really care about it himself. His experience with beaches was mostly just driving past them on trips. "I haven't been to the beach here yet." He watched as Armin's eyes went wide, "Really? Oh my gosh, you have to! It's amazing!" He said becoming more animated as he spoke. Eren nodded "Would you go with me?" He asked.

Armin looked at him for a moment before nodding. He wasn't used to people actually wanting to be around him, it was strange."If you want you could come to my house tomorrow, then we could walk down." Eren smiled at him  "Sounds good," He was glad he wouldn't have to go home to Grisha after school and after the way Armin talked about it, Eren was interested to see what he was so excited about.

Not long after, the bell rang and the pair walked to class together. Both found it was nice having someone to walk with.


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's way longer than the others, I was going to split it into two but decided against it

Grisha was shocked by how easy it was to get Eren to school the next day. When he went to make sure Eren was up, he found his son fully dressed and packing his bag. "I take it you're liking this school then?" He asked raising an eyebrow. Eren just shrugged and headed downstairs for breakfast, Grisha following close him behind. Eren began pouring himself a bowl of cereal. "I actually wanted to tell you something," Grisha said sitting down at the table. Eren continued with his cereal as if nothing was said. "You remember Dina and Zeke right?" Eren gave him a look as he sat down at the table and began eating. "Well, they're going to come over this afternoon. I thought it might be nice for you to see your brother." Grisha said with a smile. Eren shook his head "I'm going to see a friend after school today."

 Grisha crossed his arms "As glad as I am to hear you've made a friend, I think it'd be good for you to see your brother. Besides, I don't remember you asking permission to go see anyone today." Eren shrugged "You didn't ask if I wanted to see Zeke." The school bus honked from outside as Grisha shot him a slightly frustrated look, "You'll come straight home after school today, understand?" Eren stood up and swung his bag onto his back, "Nope." he stated before running out the door.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Armin was usually one of the hardest people to try and get out of bed in the morning. Today, however, his grandfather didn't even have to try. He had gotten up as usual, slipped on his slippers and dressing gown and went to make his way down the hall to try and wake his grandson. He didn't even make it to his door before it opened and a sleepy looking Armin shuffled out. Grandpa Arlert looked at him, slightly shocked "You're up already?" Armin looked over at him, blinking a few times before mumbling something along the lines of "Good morning." and heading toward the bathroom. 

Fifteen minutes later, Armin sat at the small table on their porch eating his breakfast while his grandfather sipped his coffee beside him. "So you're bringing someone home this afternoon?" Armin nodded "It's ok right? He just moved here and hasn't been to the beach yet." His grandfather gave him a soft smile "Of course, you're always welcome to bring friends here." He said, proud that Armin may have made a friend. He wanted to encourage him as much as possible. Armin smiled back at him "Thanks Grandpa." 

 

For the first time since he was little, when Armin caught the bus that morning, he had someone to sit with. Eren gave him a small wave as he sat down beside him. "How was you're night?" Eren asked as Armin placed his bag down by his feet, "It was good. My Grandpa said it's ok for you to come over." He said smiling at him. Eren smiled back, "Great, I can't wait."  They didn't talk too much during the ride, mainly just about one of the classes they had that day.

When the bus pulled up to the school gate, the pair took their time getting up and grabbing their things. Armin found he didn't feel as anxious walking to class today, knowing he wasn't alone was comforting. He didn't feel like Eren was going to turn on him anymore. Despite not knowing him very well, he didn't think Eren was the type to bully. From what he had said yesterday in the classroom, it sounded like he had problems with making friends as well but seemed to want to hang around Armin. It seemed like he genuinely wanted to be Armin's friend. The thought made Armin smile, he was still going to be careful around him but it made him incredibly happy.

A familiar voice cut through Armin's thoughts as they made their way through the hall and made his stomach drop. "Would you look at that, the new kid didn't get the message." He looked up to see the same three boys approaching them. The leader still sporting a bruised jaw from where Eren had hit him. Eren glared from Armin's side, pushing his shoulders back as if getting ready to fight again. The boys stopped right in front of them, "Still hanging around the freak, huh?" The leader said stepping right into Eren's personal space.

"Did he tell you about his parents?" The boy smirked at Eren as Armin tensed at his side. "About how they decided he was too much work and left." Armin felt tears begin to prickle at the corners of his eyes as the boy continued to speak, he turned to face Armin "You were just too much of a freak for you're own parents." he said, ending his sentence by shoving him. 

Armin stumbled back from the push, nearly falling over. Eren jumped forward and stood between him and Armin. "Piss off." Eren said, glaring at the boy. He laughed, "You're still trying to defend him? You must be some kinda freak too then." The smaller of the two boys behind him stepped forward with a smirk. "He sure is, didn't ya hear 'bout why he moved here?" Eren's fists clenched at his sides as the boy talked. "My Dad said his Mum died last year, he says she offed herself so she didn't have to deal with their 'problem child'" 

Armin barely even blinked before the boy was on the floor. The two other boys had to pry Eren off him as he attacked, Eren seemed to have almost gone feral as he punched and kicked at the boy. Armin ran to try and get them to stop as they started ganging up on Eren, only for the leader to turn and start swinging at Armin. 

"Hey!" a voice boomed down the hall. All the boys froze. Eren looked toward the source of the voice and saw the man from the day before striding toward them, a tall blonde man in tow. "Are you kidding me? It's barely been a day," he stated standing before them. The blonde man stepped forward shaking his head and Eren recognized him the principle, Mr. Smith. "I expected better. I want to see you all in my office." He looked them over again before adding "After you've been to the nurse."  

 

~~~~ 

 

Eren stayed silent through seeing the nurse and kept his distance as they walked to the principles office. Armin kept his eyes on the floor, terrified of what had just happened. He had been so close to having an actual friend but he knew that what had happened would probably be a strain on any sort of budding friendship. He only looked up as they entered the office, the other boys were still with the nurse so it was just Eren, the principle and him there.

"Hello boys," Mr. Smith greeted them as they entered and gestured for them to sit. "So, I want to know exactly what happened," he said as they took their seats. Armin opened his mouth to start explaining but Eren bet him to it. "We were walking to class and those guys came up and started saying stuff about Armin's family and calling him a freak. One of them shoved Armin so I pushed him back and then he called me a freak too." He stated. Erwin nodded "And so you attacked him?" Eren shook his head. "That's not everything they said," he mumbled, looking down at the worn carpet. "What else did they say?" Erwin asked looking from Eren to Armin. Armin looked to Eren then back at the principle. "Um, one of them said some things about his mother," he said carefully, watching for Eren's reaction. 

Something that looked like sympathy flashed across Erwin's face and he gave a knowing nod, "Ok, I'm going to give you both a warning. What those boys did was not ok but that doesn't give you a right to get physical. Next time please get a teacher to help or you will get into some real trouble." He stated. "If the nurse said that you're both fine then you can go to class." 

 

They walked in silence towards their class. Armin stared at the floor, he felt completely disgusting. What the bully had said about his parent's swirled in his head, thinking about them hurt more than anything the bullies could do. He knew it was his fault they had left. 

He looked at Eren briefly and felt a pang of guilt, he hadn't known about his mother. He felt like he should try and comfort him in some way but didn't know how. "She didn't kill herself." Eren stated. Armin looked up at him, "She had an accident on the way home from work one night." he said, Armin could see tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry," Armin said genuinely. Eren kept staring straight ahead. "Did you're parents really leave?" 

Armin stopped walking. It was like being winded, he didn't want to talk about that. Eren seemed to sense it and stopped as well. He turned to face him. "You don't have to tell me." He said, not wanting to upset him.

Armin shook his head, "Its ok," he felt it was fair since Eren had told him what happened to his mother. "One night they packed up and left, they didn't even say goodbye." His voice wavered slightly "My Grandpa found a note saying they couldn't cope and that they were leaving." He felt tears pool in his eyes and tried to force them away. 

Eren reached out and took his hand. He didn't really know what to say but wanted to try and comfort him. Armin looked at their hands for a few moments before wiping his eyes with his other sleave. "We should probably get to class." He stated and Eren nodded.

They walked close together hands still clasped between them. They stuck together for the rest of the day, neither talking too much but finding comfort in not being alone. After school, they caught the bus to Armin's as they had planned and the mood began to pick up a little. 

"We'll go see my Grandpa then we can head to the beach, ok?" Armin said as they got off the bus. Eren looked around, they were already practically at the beach. He could see Armin and his Grandfather's house sitting only a few meters from where the sand began. The house had a longish driveway and was surrounded by an open field, there were large hills that cut them off from the town that ran inland. It was like another little world. 

Grandpa Arlert waved from the porch as the boys made their way down the driveway. "Hello," he said holding out his hand to Eren "I'm Armin's Grandfather," Eren took his hand and shook it. "I'm Eren, nice to meet you." Grandpa Arlert gave him a wide smile "Nice to meet you too. I've made some snacks for you boys, Come in."

The inside of the house was smallish but welcoming. There was a staircase dividing the downstairs. On one side there was a small kitchen and dining area, on the other, there was a cozy looking living room with large french doors out to the beach. The whole place looked slightly worn like it had been well lived in, but it added to the welcoming feeling. 

Grandpa Arlert brought a tray of homemade cookies to the living room and set it on the coffee table. Eren and Armin sat next to each other on the sofa while Armin's grandfather took the chair across from them."So Eren, Armin tells me you haven't been to the beach here yet?" Eren nodded as he picked up a cookie "I didn't really have much time, I had to unpack." Grandpa Arlert nodded "Well I hope you like it today. Armin will be a great guide, he loves it down there and knows everything you need to about the sea." 

After they'd eaten, Armin and Eren headed down to the beach. They walked across the small patch of grass to the sand. Armin was grinning from ear to ear, "It's beautiful, right?" He exclaimed. Eren Looked up and down the beach and then out at the water. It looked like any other beach, he turned to Armin to say it but the words died on his tongue. 

Eren had never seen anything like the look in Armin's eyes at that moment. They shone with something beautiful and inspired, Eren didn't know what it was but he couldn't look away. "Right." he agreed, he wanted to find out what it was about this place that made Armin's eyes look like that. Armin grinned and took his hand, leading him over towards where the hills meet the sea, "Come see the rock pools! There a bunch of little creatures that live there."

Armin took him to a small pool and crouched beside it, inspecting the insides. "Look, there's starfish!" Eren crouched down and looked at the little blue and gray stars along the side of the pool. "They're cute." Eren smiled and Armin nodded in agreement.  "What else lives in here?" Eren asked "Crabs, fish, snail's, All sorts." said Armin enthusiastically, "I'll show you the other pools." He said jumping up. 

The pair spent a good amount of time looking around all the rockpools, they found hundreds of little creatures. Eren's favorites were defiantly the starfish though, he had liked the crabs until he picked one up and got nipped. He dropped it back into the water while Armin giggled beside him. "If you're going to pick up a crab, you should pick it up from the back so it can't nip you." Eren huffed "Could have told me that earlier." Armin shuffled over "Sorry," He smiled "Do you wanna go build something out of driftwood?" Eren nodded.

They found a suitable spot along the sand and began to build a fort. They dug out a hole and stuck driftwood along the outside pointing inward on an angle. After they'd finished, they crawled inside. There was just enough room for them to sit side by side comfortably while looking out at the water. Eren looked over at Armin, he hadn't had fun like this with anyone other than his mother before. Both boys felt exhausted but comfortable. Armin rested his head on Eren's shoulder. "I think I see why you like it here so much." Eren said and Armin smiled. They sat together like that for a while, almost falling asleep when they heard Armin's Grandfather calling them. "Armin!" His voice came from the house. "It's time to come in!" Armin sighed and got up "Time to go." 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Grandpa Arlert drove Eren home, he offered to come and say hello to Eren's father but he told him he would be busy. He stood out in the street and waved to Armin as they drove away before heading inside. He was greeted by a very angry Grisha.


	4. Part 4

Eren stood staring blankly up at Grisha while he glared back at Eren. "Dina decided to stay for dinner. Go upstairs and get changed, we'll have a talk about this afternoon later." Eren looked at him for a few moments before turning on his heel and heading up to his room with no intention of coming back down.

He dropped his bag by the door and flopped down on his bed. It had been one of the best afternoons Eren had had since his mother's accident, he felt like he might actually have a real friend. He genuinely liked being around Armin, it didn't feel forced like it often had with people in the past. When he saw Armin's expression at the beach and the way his eyes lit up when they found the creatures in the rock pools, he felt like he was looking at something incredibly special.  The way Armin talked about things that Eren would usually think were entirely ordinary and dull made them seem amazing and beautiful. Eren smiled to himself, he couldn't wait to see him again in the morning.  
  
About twenty minutes passed before a loud knock at his bedroom door startled Eren from his thoughts. "Eren," His father sounded incredibly frustrated as he entered. "Dinner's been ready for fifteen minutes, we've all been waiting for you." Eren looked over at him from his bed, "You can start without me." Grisha pinched the bridge of his nose "Zeke would like to see you." Eren gave him a look "Why?" Grisha glared at his son. "You have two minutes and you'd better be downstairs." He stated, "Or else you're grounded and I will be picking you up and dropping you to school." Eren huffed but got up and followed Grisha downstairs. 

Dina and Zeke were already seated at the dining room table. Dina smiled at Eren when he walked and greeted him warmly while Zeke just gave him a nod. Eren stared down at his plate, he didn't really want to see either of them. He remembered a lot of his parent's fights had been about Dina, his mother didn't like the amount his father would talk about her. Dina had never been unkind to Eren and had known her boundaries with Carla but Eren still didn't feel right around her.   
  
Eren had met Zeke a few times over the years, he used to come stay with them during summer but had stopped a few years back. Eren didn't really feel much about his brother, they were never particularly close. They didn't do much together when he came to stay, apart from compulsory family activities like board games so when he stopped coming, Eren didn't really care.   
  
Despite Eren never really caring too much about either of these people's preasance, tonight felt like an invasion. He didn't miss the looks Grisha and Dina shared as they ate or the slightly flirty way they chatted to each other. He couldn't believe his father would do this, His mother had barely been gone a year and here he was flirting!  It made his blood boil.

He opened his mouth to say something about it when Zeke spoke up. "So Eren, I was wondering if you were free after school sometime this week?" Eren looked at him for a moment. Zeke had no real expression on his face and just continued to eat as he waited for Eren to respond. "I don't know." Eren said stabbing at his food. He honestly didn't want to hang around his brother, not for any real reason other than he thought it would be boring. "I'm coming into town on Friday, I was wondering if you would like to go do something?" 

Grisha responded before Eren got the chance "What a wonderful idea, Eren could use some brotherly bonding." Zeke eyed Grisha for a moment before looking back to Eren. "Only if you want to." He said going back to his food. Eren knew he would have to, he was already in trouble with Grisha and saying no to this would really be pushing it. "Yeah, ok." He mumbled.

Dina and Zeke left shortly after dinner, as soon as their car had pulled away Grisha turned to Eren. "You  _are_  going on Friday." He stated sternly. Eren nodded, looking at the ground "Yeah, I know."

The next morning Eren once again had no trouble getting himself out of bed. He got dressed quickly and was sitting on the front doorstep waiting for the bus twenty minutes before it was due. It was cold out but he didn't really care, he just didn't want to see his father that morning. 

Eren looked around from where he sat and realized he hadn't really seen much of his neighborhood since they moved there. Shinganshia was a hilly town but his street ran from base to top of a particularly steep hill. The houses along it weren't too big but it was still slightly cramped, Eren decided he definitely liked the space and privacy of Armin's house better. He watched as people began to tiredly shuffle from their homes to their cars and the street slowly come to life until the bus finally arrived. 

He sat close to the front staring out the window, watching the town fly past. Eventually, the bus stopped at the end of Armin's long driveway and Eren watched as the small blonde jumped down from the porch and wave to his grandfather before running to the bus. 

"Hi," Armin smiled at Eren as he took the seat next to him "Hey," Eren smiled back "How was your night?" Armin shrugged as he tucked away his bag, "We had dinner and went to bed. How about you?" Eren faulted for a second "My brother came for dinner." he said, looking down at his feet. "That's cool," Armin said, "Is he nice?" Eren shrugged "Yeah but he can be boring." Armin nodded in understanding and the conversation died down till they arrived at school.

Eren was waiting while Armin swapped some things from his locker when he got an idea. Eren really didn't feel like being at school today, he was still in a bit of a bad mood about dinner the night before and school was only going to make it worse so why even turn up?

"Hey Armin," Eren said turning to face him "Yeah?" Armin said, shutting his locker and zipping up his bag. "Lets ditch today," Eren said it casually but he was honestly very excited about the idea of ditching and spending the day with Armin instead. Armin however, looked at him like he'd suggested murder. "We can't just ditch! We'll get in so much trouble!" Eren shrugged "We just have to be careful so we don't get caught." he smiled while Armin shook his head "I don't want to risk it." Eren frowned "Please, I don't want to be here and we wouldn't have to deal with those asshole's harassing us." 

Armin pursed his lips for a second before sighing. "Ok. fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I started design school, got REALLY sick for about three days and then my Mum took as away on holiday to (ironically) a small beach town. Next chapter will be up sooner and I'll try and update more regularly.


	5. Chapter 5

Eren grinned at Armin as the bell rang. He took a hold of his hand and led him through the halls and out the front of the building. Armin looked around nervously for any teachers that might notice what they were doing. They didn't.

They hurried down the street, waiting until they were a safe distance from the school before slowing down to a normal pace. "So what are we going to do then?" Armin asked, Eren had suggested they skip but hadn't actually mentioned why. "I don't know." Eren shrugged "I figured you could show me around town. I realized this morning I don't even know my own neighborhood yet." Armin shook his head "If we go walking around town people might get suspicious, I don't want my grandfather to find out." Eren nodded "Yeah, maybe that isn't a good idea. I'm already in trouble with my Dad." 

Eren looked down at the footpath, he hadn't thought much past actually leaving the school. "Hm, where  _could_  we go that no one would notice us?" He really didn't know this place well enough for this. "Well," Armin looked around "We are right on the edge of town, I know somewhere just out of town we could go." That piqued Eren's interest, he hadn't spent much time out in the country, aside from driving. "That sounds cool." 

Armin led him through a few streets, past a large "Welcome to Shinganshia" sign Eren recognized from when he arrived there a week earlier and then along a country road. The road ran across a particularly flat stretch of land with huge open paddocks either side. The hills that separated Armin's house from the rest of town sat to the far right. 

"Stay close to the fence and don't go near the road." Armin instructed, moving to walk close to the wire fencing. "Why?" Eren asked but did as he said and moved to walk beside him. "My mother used to say that when she would take me walking here." He replied, looking out across the paddocks. Eren looked at him for a moment. He wondered if Armin was taking him somewhere that held some kind of special meaning or memories to him.  

They followed the road for about ten or so minutes, neither said much until Armin pointed across a paddock at the hills. "We cut across here, I don't know how whoever owns this place will feel about it so we need to be quick." He took off his blanket and dropped it over the wire fence. He wasn't sure whether it would be electric or not but he figured it was better not to test. 

"Don't touch the wire." He stated, pressing the bottom wire to the ground with his boot, leaving enough room between it and the next for Eren to crawl through. Eren nodded and crouched down before carefully climbing through. He stood and replaced Armin's boot with his sneaker so he could do the same.

Once they were both safely on the other side, Armin grabbed his blanket and took off running across the shin-high grass. Eren took off after him a moment later, easily catching up. They raced across three paddocks before they were standing at the foot of the hills. Armin was visibly puffed, he cheeks were red and he was wheezing slightly but there was a smile on his face. Eren smiled as well, unlike Armin, he looked like he could easily do it again. 

"Come on." Armin said after taking a moment to catch his breath. "It's just up here." Eren nodded and they set off down an overgrown path along the base of the hills. "You know, I used to get really nervous about that part." Armin said vaguely gesturing at the paddocks "But it was kinda fun this time." an expression Eren couldn't quite pinpoint flashed across his face. "I guess I didn't have anyone constantly telling me how careful I have to be this time." He stared at the ground just ahead of his feet. 

"Well," Eren said "I think I knew you'd be capable enough." Armin blinked and looked over at him for a moment, His last sentence played a few times in his head. "So where are we going exactly?" Eren asked. "There," Armin pointed ahead of them to where the land and hills became covered in forest. 

"Oh," Eren said, sounding almost disappointed. He remembered looking out his window on the way to Shinganshia and thinking how boring the forest was. It just a bunch of trees. Armin didn't miss his tone of voice and suddenly became anxious. "Do you, um, not want to go?" Eren shrugged, he didn't want to make him feel bad so he lied. "Oh no, I do. I just wasn't expecting it." Armin wasn't fully convinced but pushed it aside. 

Eren noticed Armin's expression change as they walked through the trees. His eyes began to shine again like they had at the beach. He felt his heart speed up just looking at him. "Oh my gosh! Eren look!" He whispered enthusiastically and pointed up at the branches of a nearby tree. Eren looked where he was pointing, it took a few moments before he noticed a birds nest high up in the tree. He couldn't believe Armin had even noticed it, it was so small and so high up. Armin grinned wide staring up at it. "I wonder what kind of bird it is." he said quietly, leaning towards Eren. "Isn't it cool?" Armin smiled up at it. "Definitely," Eren said staring at Armin.

They continued on, Armin telling Eren about the time he and his grandfather had nursed a baby bird back to health. "I think birds are really amazing." Armin said "Imagine having the freedom to go wherever you wanted whenever you wanted. you could literally be like "I'm going to England now" and then just up and leave." Eren smiled and raised an eyebrow at him "Why England?" Armin shrugged "It just popped into my head." 

A few moments passed before Eren spoke again "Why do you want to fly away?" he asked. Armin pursed his lips "I don't know, I just," He looked up at the trees "I love it here most of the time but I already know Shinganshia so well, I want to go somewhere new. I wanna see the world and how amazing and different it all is." Eren felt something in himself shift. Armin seemed to find the world so beautiful and enticing, he wanted to see the world like that.  

Eventually, Armin led him up the side of the hill, stopping every now and then to point things out. They had been walking for around forty minutes when Eren's legs started to ache. "We're here!" Armin exclaimed racing forward, Eren wondered how he could have been that flustered after running across those paddocks but somehow still have energy after a hike like that. He trailed behind him and they came out in a small clearing sitting on a slight outcrop. They were a lot higher than Eren had thought. When he looked out between the trees, he could see Shinganshia sitting in the distance. It really was a tiny town.

Eren looked around the clearing, it was only a few meters across in a slightly oval shape. There was a small pond sitting in the middle and there were flowers growing all through the grass. It wasn't particularly impressive but Eren thought the view made it a little more worth the hike.

 Armin sat next to the pond, staring into it with a grin. Eren went and crouched beside him and looked into the water. "Are those mosquito babys?" Armin nodded "Wrigglers." he smiled. Eren nodded and sat back, he pulled his bag off and rummaged through it for his lunch. Armin did the same, both boys were quite hungry after the amount of exercise they had just done. They sat and ate quietly for a little while, Then when they'd finished Armin got Eren to move an old decaying log on the edge of the trees so he could tell him all about the bugs that scuttled out from under it. Eren listened intently even though he still thought they were pretty gross. 

After a while they found themselves lying side by side by the pond.  "You know," Armin said quietly "I usually get really nervous doing anything like this. I was when we first left school but since then, I feel fine. I've had a lot of fun actually." Eren smiled wide at him "I'm glad." he said "I'm glad to have an actual friend as well. It's nice to not be on my own all the time." Armin glanced at him "What about you're Dad?" Eren made a face "He's always at work and when he's not he's angry with me for something." Armin looked back up at the clouds "Oh." Eren shrugged "But I really like being around you, you make everything so interesting and cool." 

Armin went a little pink, he wasn't used to any kind of praise outside of his grandfather. "I like being around you too." Eren smiled and reached out and took ahold of Armin's hand. "That's good."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY I'M NOT DEAD AND THIS IS NOT ABANDONED BUT MY MENTAL HEALTH WENT "FUCK YOU" AND THROAT PUNCHED ME SO I WENT MIA FOR A WHILE BUT I'M BACK NOW

 

  
They barely made it back to the bus stop on time. Lucky for them, the bus driver didn't question why they had just come running down the street instead of from inside the school. They sat close together in a seat near the front and talked in hushed voices as the last of the other kids climbed on board.

"I can't believe we got away with it!" Armin exclaimed massive grin on his face, "I thought there might be someone waiting at the gate for us or something but it was fine!" He quickly glanced out the window just to make sure. Seeing Armin so excited made Eren excited too. "I know right! That was really great!" 

The pair were exhilarated but exhausted, hiking had taken a lot of effort. They leaned against each other as the bus pulled away from the curb. Armin rested his head on Eren's shoulder and by the time they arrived at the end of his long driveway he was nearly falling asleep.

 

 

After that day the boys became almost inseparable. Every day they would spend as much time as possible together, on the bus, between classes, lunchtime and after school they were always at either Armins house, on the beach or in the woods outside of town. Actually having a friend made time fly, unfortunately for Eren that meant Friday came very quickly.

He begrudgingly said goodbye to Armin on the bus that day and watched him walk up his driveway before the bus pulled away. He sat glaring at his hands in his lap. He didn't want to see Zeke but he also didn't want to upset his father again. He sighed and looked out the window. 

When he'd told Armin about it he had promised they could hang out the next day and that they'd have the whole day to themselves. Eren smiled at the thought of haveing a whole day to spnd with Armin but he would have still preferred to have gotten off the bus at Armin's house that afternoon. 

He recognized Dina's old blue car parked outside as he got off the bus. Sure enough, when he got inside Dina and Grisha were chatting happily in the living room while Zeke sat off to the side on his phone. "Ah, you're home." He said looking up. He quickly put his phone in his pocket and jumped up "Let's go," 

Eren dropped his bag in his room before Zeke hurried him out to Dina's car. "Sorry about rushing you like that. My mother decided to come too and I couldn't take much more of their flirty bullshit." Zeke said pulling on his seatbelt. Eren scrunched up his nose, kinda thankful he didn't have to hear it. 

"So I was thinking we could go catch a movie or something and then get dinner," Zeke said as he started up the car. "That sounds like a bad date." Eren raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. "It does a bit, we could do something else if you want?" Eren shook his head, "It's fine." He didn't really care too much what they did if he was honest, he just wanted to get it over with.

The ride into town didn't take too long. Eren stared out the window the whole time, listening to the cheesy radio music and thinking about what he and Armin could do the next day. When they arrived at the theater, Zeke let Eren choose the movie and brought them popcorn. Eren picked the latest Mavel movie which they both enjoyed, even if the air between them was slightly awkward. 

Afterward, Zeke asked Eren where he wanted to go for dinner. He wasn't feeling particularly creative so they went through the McDonalds drive-through. Zeke didn't want to dine in, he said he knew somewhere cooler they could sit and eat. He drove around the streets and then along a road that headed up the side of one of the hills that ran between town and Armin's house. 

Eren watched out the window as the town got smaller and smaller. Eventually, they pulled into a small lookout near the top. Eren got out of the car and his eyes went wide. The sea spanned out to the horizon, looking truly massive from this far up. He knew it was much bigger still but seeing it like this really put into perspective. The sunset made the water look pink and orange and it took Erens breath away. He wondered for a moment if Armin had been up there, it seemed like something he would love. Maybe tomorrow he would bring him up here, He smiled at the thought of being the one to show Armin something cool for once.

Zeke brought their food out and they sat on the bonnet. It was slightly windy but they managed to eat without anything blowing away. After they'd finished, Zeke dumped the paper in a nearby bin before rejoining Eren. They sat for a few moments before Zeke spoke. "So, I wanted to talk to you something." Eren looked over at him. "Dad is an ass." He stated "I think you think so too. He's selfish and just generally shit to be around and I'm gonna assume after what happened with your mother he hasn't been much better." Eren shrugged, he was right, he had been on his own dealing with most of what happened but he had handled it. "I just wanted to let you know you don't have to be alone. If you wanna talk or need to get away from Dad, just call me." He said "I know what it feels like to be left on you're own like that and I don't want that for you." 

Eren stared at the concrete in front of the car. He wanted to say that he didn't need help and that he was fine on his own but he couldn't bring himself to. As much as he wanted to deny it, the thought of someone he could depend on to help him made him want to cry. In a good way. His mother used to be the one he depended on for any sort of support. He nodded, suddenly feeling like he might cry. He really hated this feeling. Zeke shuffled closer and pulled him into an awkward but warm hug. Eren found himself relaxing into it, maybe hanging out with Zeke wasn't such a bad thing.

  
When they got back, Dina asked about their evening and Grisha asked if they would like to spend the night. Luckily Zeke convinced Dina that they had to go home, neither he nor Eren wanted to think about what Dina and Grisha would get up to or what they might hear if they stayed over.

After they left, Eren watched Grisha as he went about his business. He was humming and there was a spring in his step. Eren scrunched up his nose at him and headed up to his bedroom. A smile crept onto his lips as he went to brush his teeth, the sooner he went to bed the sooner he could wake up and go see Armin. When he walked back to his room he had a similar spring in his step to his father.


End file.
